TikTok will experiment in the coming days with a new button called “Refresh” (“Refresh”), capable of resetting the video selection algorithm on the “For You” page. The announcement was made by the company to the American medium The Verge. Such a feature could appeal to users who want access to more diversified content… or hide their appetite for certain types of content.
TikTok’s recommendation algorithm is based on user history, time spent on each video, searches, likes, and interactions. The “For You” feed automatically displays videos that can engage the user based on their habits. Which can get boring.
By pressing the “Refresh” button, TikTok will display more diverse content and not based on the user’s past activities. A way to cancel your previous interactions: the recommendation algorithm will only take into account new activities, registered after the fact, to offer you new videos in the “For you” feed.
Towards greater personalization
Initially, the trial will only be available to a small number of restricted users. TikTok announced in December that users will soon be able to find out why a video appears in the “For You” feed, with the “Why This Video” button. Users can now click “Not Interested” to stop watching videos from a specific creator or with certain hashtags.
The Chinese social network, which could soon be banned in the United States, was singled out in January for the possibility, for certain employees, of going viral with any video.
Source: BFM TV
